Mid Essex Football League Div 2

Stock United Football Club.
Sponsord by Purified Air Limited
Close season Report June 2017

The highlight of the 2016-2017 season was the fact that both sides recovered in the second half of the season after poor starts. The Sunday team looked like it might fold before Christmas, but then staged a revival, reaching the semi final of the Chelmsford Invitation League division 1 cup & hauling itself off the foot of the league table. The Saturday team had been slipping towards a relegation battle in division 2 of the Mid Essex League before the new year, but then put together a consistent run, up to the what must probably be one of the earliest ends to a season in mid March..

The Saturday side finished fifth out of eleven teams in division 2 of the Mid Essex League, having won 9 matches, drawn 4 & lost 7. The most emphatic wins were an 8-0 thrashing of luckless Mundon Vics at home on 12 November 2016 & a 5-0 away win on 18th March against CT66 Reserves, being the last game of the season. The rise up the table was surprisingly enough to gain promotion to division 1, due to a reorganisation of the divisions by the league.

By the end of October Stock were knocked out of all the Saturday cup competitions. They exited the Essex Junior Trophy in the second round, losing 2-0 away to Nazeing in Harlow, whilst in the Dave Strachan cup they were defeated 2-1 at home by Haver Town. The league cup did not bring any success either, with Stock knocked out in round 1, 2-1 away after extra time by none other than Mundon Vics.

Following their late surge, Stock's Sunday side finished seventh out of eleven teams in division 1 of the Chelmsford Invitation League, having won 8 games drawn 2 & lost 10. A slow start saw them lose their first three games & before Christmas there were two heavy defeats, 6-1 away to City Supporters & then 7-3 at home to Wallis. The tide turned at the start of 2017 & the most astonishing game of the season saw Stock beat Seaxe 6-4 away at Baddow Rec on a quagmire of a pitch on 12th February. Stock were 4-0 up after half an hour, but had been pegged back to 4-2 by half time. Ten minutes into the second half & it was 4-3, but Stock eventually took the points. More consistency thereafter saw further wins, most notably 5-0 away to Clay Pigeon on 26th February.

In the Sunday cup competitions Stock exited the Essex Junior Trophy & the league cup in round 1. In the league cup, they failed to fulfill the fixture away to Queens Head Rams on the morning of the match, due to a number of players pulling out at short notice. This is the first time in living memory that the club has defaulted a fixture in any competition. Meanwhile, in the Essex Junior Trophy, A & A Utd beat Stock 5-1 on a 3g pitch in Harlow, scoring 4 of their goals in the final ten minutes! There was some success though in the division 1 cup, which saw Stock progress to the semi final before being knocked out 2-0 at home by the eventual winners Springfield Green on 26th March.

All in all, both sides recovered from early inconsistency to finish the season strongly, mainly due to player availability improving, together with an influx of a few new players.

Off the pitch, improvements are continuing to be made to the club's facilities, but the problem with vandalism continues to be a concern. Also, the club was entered into the Essex F.A's groundsman of the year awards, but did not win the coveted trophy.

A big thank you has to go to the club's sponsors, Purified Air Limited, who continued to support the club during the 2016-2017 season.

You can keep up with how next season is progressing by visiting the “full time” website and entering “vau” to gain access to the Vauxhall Mid Essex League section or “che” to find the Chelmsford Invitation League. Alternatively, visit the Stock Utd section of the village website for information on both the teams and the club generally, or the club's website directly at www.clubwebsite.co.uk/stockunited

If anyone is interested in playing for or helping to run the club in any capacity, please contact me on (01277) 632301, or via my email at kw.howell@talktalk.net.

Stock United - CT 66 F.C. Reserves -Stock awarded home win
Harold Wood Athletic F.C. B - CT 66 F.C. Reserves - Harold awarded home win

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